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When Xherdan Shaqiri signed for Chicago Fire in 2022, he was considered a transformational signing.
After all, he was the highest-paid player in Major League Soccer at the time, certain to earn at least $8.15 million (£6.4m at current rates) per year. Reaching the play-offs twice since 2010 is not ideal; rather dire. The Fire were looking for a player who had won league titles in the first six seasons of his career, with Basel in Switzerland and then Bayern Munich in Germany, to help them get to the level they reached in the 2000s.
It hasn't happened like that at all.
Shaqiri has scored a few goals, but his performances have been extremely inconsistent. He has scored two goals in 12 games this season and he has certainly not been a starter. Is it a coincidence that since he joined Switzerland's squad for the European Championship, his club has drawn two and won two, while they have won only two of the matches he has played? Possibly. But his absence has not hurt them.
Still, some players might be better suited for international football.
It was a surprise decision to select Shaqiri for Wednesday's second Euro 2024 match against Scotland, a 1-1 draw. It was the second big decision made by Swiss coach Murat Yakin in two games: he picked Kwadwo Dua out of almost nowhere for the opener against Hungary and was rewarded with a goal after just 12 minutes.
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Dua impressed so much that it was equally surprising to see Shaqiri replace him for the Scotland game. But again, Yakin was rewarded. And what is really gratifying for the manager is that neither of the men, Yakin who was under some pressure before the tournament, scored for the other.
On Saturday, Dua used his pace to get past the Hungarian defence and score, but that was not the case with Shaqiri, who is a little more selective in his movements these days. But at the same time, there was no chance that Dua would have scored the way Shaqiri did, as he managed to score after Scotland wing-back Anthony Ralston headed the ball into the top corner about 25 yards from goal.
(Bradley Collier/PA Images via Getty Images)
And to be fair to Dua, this didn’t just happen to her.
“I don't know how many other players would have scored that goal,” Yakin said after the game. “But he has so much confidence and ability that he can score it easily.”
In contrast, Scotland coach Steve Clarke agreed. “If that chance went to any other Swiss player, it wouldn't be a goal,” he said. “That tells you what I think about Shaqiri. When the ball was rolling to Shaqiri, it went into the back of the net. You don't give top, top players chances like that.”
Shaqiri was selected as a false nine, and spent most of his time on the pitch in order to make space for Switzerland's more dynamic players, but in reality he would not have scored if he had not lined up in the centre-forward position.
And standing is the most effective word. He doesn't move much these days, at least not in terms of mobility. But if you can strike that well you don't have to go too far.
It wasn't just a spectacular goal: It was a historic one. Shaqiri is one of seven Major League Soccer players at Euro 2024 (if you include Olivier Giroud, who hasn't played a game for LAFC yet), but when the ball went just inside the post against Scotland, Shaqiri became the first MLS player to score in a European Championship game. In fact, he's the first player from a North or South American club to score in Europe's big jamboree.
That's not all. After the match, Shaqiri laughed in embarrassment when he was told he was one of just four players to have scored in three Euros and three World Cups. (Miroslav Klose, Jurgen Klinsmann and Cristiano Ronaldo are also like him. That's not a bad thing.)
Does this tell us anything about MLS? There's a temptation to give extra meaning to moments like this. One thing for those dismissing MLS is to look at the quality that's out there.
That may be true, but it may also be true that some players are more comfortable with their national team. Which is not really a surprise: Shaqiri made his international debut in 2010, and it was his 124th cap and 32nd goal. Only Granit Xhaka has played more. Only three players have scored more goals.
He feels right at home in the Swiss shirt. It's like a comfort blanket designed by Puma. “We are always better collectively,” he said after the game. “Everyone goes to their highest performance level.”
Shaqiri scores for Switzerland (Jan Fromme/Firo Sportfoto/Getty Images)
The harshest assessment of his club career is that Shaqiri hasn't really been a relevant player since 2018, the last time he featured in anything like a regular role for Liverpool. Since then he's had a brief, unsuccessful spell in France with Lyon before moving to Chicago in 2022.
But he is always there for the Swiss, even if he doesn't always start. His role in the team was the subject of much debate before this game and throughout the tournament, and some doubted he should have been in Germany.
There were certainly several other players ahead of him. One of them is Douah. Another is Zeki Amdouni. Breel Embolo, despite returning from a knee injury that kept him out for much of last season with Monaco, was probably a better bet to start. There seemed to be no place for him in Yakin's 3-4-3 system: not a natural center-forward, not fast enough to play on the wings, not reliable enough to play in midfield.
But Yakin knows that things always happen between Shaqiri and Switzerland, especially at international tournaments.
“Hopefully,” Shaqiri replied when asked if he would still be there to score goals at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. “But it's too far away to think about that, my friend. I'm just waiting for the next match.”
And with that he left. But as long as he's wearing a Swiss shirt, he'll be back.
(Top photo: Bradley Collier/PA Images via Getty Images)